Chiropodist cutting toe and drawing blood

zaksmum

Went to the chiropodist yesterday and came out bleeding quite a lot.

She used a scalpel to trim away dead skin and must have cut too deeply - it was painful and she had quite a lot of blood to wipe away.

I asked her what had happened and she said, oh, it's normal to bleed, it tells me we're getting down to healthy skin!:eek:

I've never heard this before. Surely they should know where to stop with the scalpel??

sassyblue

From what you say it does sound like she slipped with the scalpel it leaves you with two choices, go back to her or not....

Or, put your complaint in writing, l doubt she'd admit it because she'll be thinking you might want a compensation claim. But if you are that unhappy (l would be too) then let her know in writing.

LEJC

I'm really glad that you have posted this thread as it would be really useful to see what people who have a knowledge of chiropidy say...

My elderly mum had her toenails cut at during a private chiropidy appointment at the nursing home she is in and it ended up drawing blood which after a few days became increasingly painful and a course of antibiotics later from the doctor finally helped to resolve the problem....that was a few months back and now she is understandably nervous of the next time she needs to see the chiropidist....

We didnt mention it further because we had no idea if that was the standard practice as she had never had dealings with a professional cutting her nails before..

Make sure you keep the area that has bled clean to help minimise the chance if an infection.

thefishdude

it is not normal i would say. as a diabetic i can get my feet looked after professional for free ( i dont by the way) as any injuries to the feet can cause serious problems due to very bad circulation and bad healing properties being a diabetic sooo i would guess having some one cut your feet would be majorly serious in my opinion. i have even been warned never to walk round bare footed incase i cut my foot or stand on something and dont realise.

zaksmum

Thanks sassyblue, LEJC and thefishdude. I'm supposed to go every week but this is the second week running I've come out with a blood soaked dressing.

The chiropodist snaps at me not to move but it's natural to flinch when a scalpel slices into your toe!

sassyblue

zaksmum wrote: »

The chiropodist snaps at me not to move but it's natural to flinch when a scalpel slices into your toe!

:eek: cheeky so and so..... I can't find anything else on the net but l know my disabled aunt and father have a chiropodist and neither have mentioned bleeding.

Hope you find the answers soon - or another chiropodist!

Pollycat

zaksmum wrote: »

The chiropodist snaps at me not to move but it's natural to flinch when a scalpel slices into your toe!

That may put a different persepective on your first post.

Did you cause the scalpel to slip by flinching?

Although if you had caused the cut by flinching, I'd have not expected her to say this:

zaksmum wrote: »

I asked her what had happened and she said, oh, it's normal to bleed, it tells me we're getting down to healthy skin!:eek:

Maybe 6 of one and half a dozen of the other.

Alias_Omega

I would ask them what is going to happen & what should you expect before they start to work on your feet.

I also like a running commentry from the dentist etc, sort of "thats the first bit done" etc than being left in the dark wondering when things will end.

If you dont ask, you wont get. Though if your unhappy with the service provided, dont return to them.

lostinrates

I went to a podiatrist recently and he cut my toe. I did not flinch before he cut me (I am quite 'hard') but the second time I pulled away afterwards and said 'ouch'.

He did not say the 'healthy skin thing' but did urge me to stay still. He had a well used (half empty) bottle of disinfectant and I gathered this is not uncommon even if it's not desirable.

However, I would feel less confident it the person were rude or short to me while inflicting wounds! The pain was very short term (couple of days), very minor, and the blood only on the day.

jaytar

I work for a chiropodist and I can assure you that it is definitely NOT normal to draw blood. The excuse she made is ridiculous and I would certainly recommend not going back there.

cabbage

I'm with Jaytar on this. My stand in chiropodist cut her hand whilst doing my feet. I asked her if she's ever cut a patient and she said no because its common to have your hand between the scalpel and the patient in case of slips.
She also said its rare for the professional to cut themselves.